The Social Consequences of Bam Earthquake in Damaged Villages

After a participatory appraisal of crisis management in damaged village Khajeh Asgar, a survey was carried out to examine the consequences and crisis management process. The findings of the study rejected the formed perception of victims particularly their weaknesses, expectations, roles, concerns, and passiveness, and highlighted the efficiencies and potentials of the networks of social relation norms, specifically kinship in local management. It also verified the active role of people and local networks in rescue, relief, primary rehabilitation, clearing debris, provision of basic needs, directing earthquake aid, aiding needy invalid, appropriate and proportionate distribution of materials such as food, tent, sanitation, heat and cool generators, and monitoring and control. Of course, despite the potentials and efficiencies of people and local communities, the level of their participation in rehabilitation of rural dwellings were very low, because decision makings and management were based on the myth of inability and weakness of those who were damaged. Ignoring or low utilization of local human and environmental potentials caused the considerable rise of the costs and growth of social anomies. The lack of attention to the nature of social trust that has a local structure and relies on local and familiar culture of kinship and attachment of ownership, wealth and livelihood caused the raise of social and normative conflicts in social structure.